The present invention relates to the field of cleaning and disinfection or sterilization of devices with narrow lumens. It finds particular application in conjunction with cleaning and disinfecting flexible endoscopes, and will be described with particular reference thereto. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to the treatment of other lumened devices.
Fluid microbial decontamination systems are typically designed to cause microbes on the item to be removed or killed by a fluid antimicrobial agent. This is achieved in a variety of ways, including bath of antimicrobial liquid, spraying the item with antimicrobial liquid, surrounding the item with antimicrobial vapor, and the like. While such systems work well for killing microbes on the exterior surface of the items to be decontaminated, internal lumens can be problematic. To be a viable commercial product, a sterilization or disinfection apparatus must provide assured contact between the antimicrobial agent and the microbes. On items with elongated lumens, such as endoscopes, it is desirable that the antimicrobial fluid assuredly contact all surfaces within the lumen. Typically, this is achieved by pumping or drawing the antimicrobial fluid through the lumen. To accommodate differences between endoscopes, for example, in the size of the insertion tube or connector cord, the type and size of lumens, and the like, endoscope reprocessors are often limited to use with one or, at best, a family of similar endoscope types.
To force the cleaning fluid through the lumens of the endoscope, plugs and fittings are typically connected with the structures at the lumen ports. At the surfaces of interconnection, microbes can become trapped between the fittings or plugs and the structures at the lumen port. When there is a good frictional fit, the frictional fit protects these microbes from the antimicrobial agent. This creates the possibility that at the end of the cycle there may be active microbes on the surfaces adjacent the lumen ports destroying the assurance of disinfection or sterility.
One solution to the trapped microbe problem is to provide a pressure chamber, which is connected with the circulating fluid, for receiving an endoscope head. The endoscope insertion tube is conducted through a pipeline connected with an opening in the pressure chamber wall. However, due to variations in the diameter of the endoscope insertion tube, excessive leakage of fluid around the insertion tube, through the opening, can lead to pressure reductions in the chamber. The reduced pressure may then be insufficient to force the cleaning solution through lumens in the head.
The present invention provides a new and improved apparatus and method, which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.